Device for dispensing rolling articles

ABSTRACT

A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles, such as bottles, from a storage location in the vending machine to a delivery position therein is disclosed. The device includes a strip of resilient or resiliently supported material positioned below the storage location to receive articles as they are individually discharged therefrom. The surface of the strip which receives the discharged articles is either permanently, or periodically, inclined towards the delivery position to provide a sloping surface down which the discharged bottles roll and because of the resilient nature of the material or of the suspension thereof, the weight of the discharged bottle causes a depression in the surface of the strip which tends to restrain the bottle from rolling askew. The depression travels along the surface with the rolling bottle and constrains the bottle to follow a substantially linear path towards the delivery position in the vending machine.

United States Patent [191 Stute [11] 3,834,584 Sept. 10, 1974 DEVICE FOR DISPENSING ROLLING ARTICLES [75] Inventor: Walter Stute, Frankfurt am Main,

Germany [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 4, 1970 Germany 2054227 [52] US. Cl. 221/312 [51] Int. Cl. B65g 11/00 [58] Field of Search 221/299, 312, 150; 193/25, 193/32; 267/74; 272/65, 66

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,273,479 2/1942 Wahl 193/25 A X 2,279,093 4/1942 Peters 221/150 B X 2,370,990 3/ 1945 Nissen 272/65 2,399,105 4/1946 Donaldson 221/299 X 2,656,967 10/1953 Eastman 193/25 A 2,913,142 11/1959 Salisbury 221/150 X 3,602,349 8/1971 Edwards et a1. 193/32 Primary Examiner-Robert B. Reeves Assistant Examiner-Joseph J. Rolla Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Sughrue, Rothwell, Mion, Zinn & Macpeak [57] ABSTRACT A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles, such as bottles, from a storage location in the vending machine to a delivery position therein is disclosed.

The device includes a strip of resilient or resiliently supported material positioned below the storage location to receive articles as they are individually discharged therefrom. The surface of the strip which receives the discharged articles is either permanently, or periodically, inclined towards the delivery position to provide a sloping surface down which the discharged bottles roll and because of the resilient nature of the material or of the suspension thereof, the weight of the discharged bottle causes a depression in the surface of the strip which tends to'restrain the bottle from rolling askew.

The depression travels along the surface with the rolling bottle and constrains the bottle to follow a substantially linear path towards the delivery position in the vending machine.

13 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure DEVICE FOR DISPENSING ROLLING ARTICLES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to improvements in a device in a vending machine for dispensing rolling articles.

Vending machines are known which are equipped particularly for dispensing rolling goods, such as bottles, cans, and the like.

In these vending machines the goods are stacked in vertical or inclined chutes and are freed individually at the bottom of the chutes by means of a mechanism which is responsive to the insertion of a predetermined amount of money into the machine. The problem of conveying the goods to a central dispensing aperture, thus arises.

The chutes referred to fill the entire width of the interior of the vending machine, since it is desired to make the best possible use of the capacity of a vending machine of this kind, while the dispensing aperture is usually disposed centrally.

Either inclined planes or moving conveyor belts are therefore required to guide the rolling goods to this dispensing aperture. Particularly in the case of bottles, the goods to be dispensed are however frequently slightly conical or more or less cylindrical referred to their total length, so that during their rolling motion they are liable to roll askew.

This can be prevented by disposing flaps above the running track, since by means of such flaps the goods to be dispensed are continually subjected to a more or less parallel impact on their path to the delivery aperture. The arrangement of these flaps is however very expensive and, in addition, retards the movement of the rolling goods. A larger drop is consequently required when these flaps are fitted, and this reduces the capacity of the machine.

Star-shaped elements are also known which are likewise mounted above the bottle track and similarly to a revolving door force the individual bottles to run straight. These devices are also relatively expensive and require a great deal of space, particularly in respect of height, which again reduces the capacity of a vending machine of this kind.

Belts covered with endless flexible materials are also known. The bearing rollers of these belts are situated at the respective ends and are mounted for easy rotation, so that when they encounter an object they are automatically moved in the inclined running direction. In some cases they are started up and kept in motion by additional motor'forces which come into action when the goods to be delivered fall on to the conveyor belt. This construction'is also very expensive and moreover liable to wear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device being provided with a member having a resiliently depressible upward facing surface portion disposed to receive articles individually dropping under gravity from the storage location, each article on striking said surface portion causing a depression to be formed therein and the surface being, or being caused to be, so inclined that the article rolls down a predetermined linear path towards the delivery position, the depression travelling along the inclined surface portion with the rolling article and restraining the article from deviating substantially from said linear path.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the single FIG- URE of the accompanying drawings which shows a device in a vending machine for discharging goods therefrom.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing, an arrangement in a vending machine which enables articles capable of rolling, such as bottles, to be delivered from a storage location comprising one of a plurality of chutes 4 into a delivery tray 2, is shown. The bottles are freed individually from the chutes 4 in a manner which is not described. After the release of one of the bottles from the chute 4, the bottle falls under gravity on to the upper surface of a strip of material 9 which is supported on a cradle 6. The craddle 6 is rockable about an axis 5 and comprises two mutually inclined arm portions 7 and 10, which define a trough across which the strip 9 extends. The strip of material 9 is resiliently supported by a spring 11, by which it is fastened under tension to an upper extremity of the arm portion 10. Instead of this resilient suspension of the strip 9 by means of the spring 11 it is also possible to use an inherently elastic belt which is stretched between the respective extremities of the arm portions 10 and 7 of the cradle 6.

In the absence of an article on the strip 9, the cradle 6 assumes the position shown in the drawing, in which the strip 9 is positioned horizontally beneath the chutes 4. The cradle may be either spring biased by a plunger unit indicated schematically at 18 or gravity biased by any suitable means (not shown) to position the strip 9 horizontally in the absence of an article on the strip 9.

When an article to be sold, for example a bottle 3, is freed from one of the chutes 4 by a delivery mechanism (indicated schematically at 17), it falls in the direction of the arrow 12 on to the upper surface of the elastic or elastically suspended strip 9 and causes the latter to deflect downwards to define a shallow depressionv 14 in the strip 9. An angle, indicated by the reference13 in the drawing, is defined at the vertex of this depression. The portion of the strip 9 which forms the walls of the depression 14 formed in this way extends from both sides of the portion of the bottle 3 resting on the strip 9 and thus, in this region, secures the bottle so that it is restrained from rolling askew when the cradle 6 is pivotally displaced into the position shown in broken lines in the drawing. Thus the bottle 3 is guided by interaction with the walls of the depression 14 to roll in the direction of the arrow 15 into the delivery position indicated by the tray 2. The tray .2 is mounted in any way inside or behind the casing I and communicates prising the shaft 5 to cause the cradle to tilt to a position in which the upper surface of the strip 9 is downwardly inclined. In the downwardly inclined position, the cradle 6 and strip 9 occupy the position indicated by broken lines in the drawing. The channel shaped depression 14 formed by the bottle 3 in the strip of material 9 travels along the resiliently depressible upper surface of the strip 9 together with the bottle 3 and thus restrains the rolling bottle from deviating substantially from its original orientation relative to the surface of the strip 9. The bottle 3 is thus constrained by the depression to follow a substantially linear path towards the delivery position. As indicated in the drawing, each of the chutes 4 is defined between two walls, such as the wall indicated by the reference numeral 20. These walls form locating means which co-operate with the delivery mechanism 17 to orientate the stored articles such that each article is delivered to the strip 9 with the axis of rotation of the article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the article is to roll thereon.

What is claimed is:

l. A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device comprising in combination:

a cradle provided with two integral arms mutually inclined to define a trough;

a storage location in said machine;

a delivery position in said machine;

a member mounted on said cradle to extend between said arms and across said trough, said member consisting of flexible solid material disposed below and next adjacent said storage location and having a substantially planar upper surface to receive articles individually dropping freely under gravity from said storage location and impinging directly on said upper surface of said member, each said article on striking said member causing a depression to be formed therein, said member being inclined towards said delivery position to cause said article to roll down a substatially linear path towards said delivery position, said depression travelling along said member with said article and restraining said article from deviating substantially from said linear path, and said storage location including locating means to orientate said articles such that each of said articles is delivered to said member with the axis of rotation of said article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which said article is to roll thereon.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, comprising spring means interconnected between an end portion of said member and an end portion of at least one of said arms.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said member comprises a strip of flexible material, said strip being so oriented relative to said storage location that each of said articles on striking said strip extends across said strip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length of said strip.

4. A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device comprising in combination:

a pivotably mounted support; a storage location in said machine;

a delivery position in said machine;

a member mounted on said support, said member consisting of flexible solid material disposed below and next adjacent said storage location to receive articles individually dropping under gravity therefrom, each said article on striking said member causing a depression to be formed therein;

biasing means urging said support towards a first position in which said member is substantially horizontal, said biasing means permitting said support to be pivotably displaced to a second position on said article striking said member;

whereby, in said second position, said member is inclined towards said delivery position to cause said article to roll down a substantially linear path towards said delivery position, said depression travelling along said member with said article and restraining said article from deviating substantially from said linear path, and said storage location including locating means to orientate said articles such that each of said articles is delivered to said member with the axis of rotation of said article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which said article is to roll thereon.

5. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said support comprises a pivotably mounted cradle provided with two mutually inclined arms defining a trough, said member extending between said arms and across said trough.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, comprising spring means interconnected between an end portion of said member and an end portion of at least one of said arms.

7. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said member comprises a strip of flexible material, said strip being so orientated relative to said storage location that each of said articles on striking said strip extends across said strip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length of said strip.

8. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said pivotably mounted support is gravity biased towards said first position.

9. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said pivotably mounted support is resiliently biased towards said first position.

10. A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device comprising in combination:

a pivotably mounted support;

displacement means to pivotably displace said support;

a storage location in said machine;

a delivery position in said machine;

a member mounted on said support, said member consisting of flexible material disposed belowand next adjacent said storage location to receive articles individually dropping under gravity from said storage location, each said article on striking said member causing a depression to be formed therein;

said support, on being struck by each said article, being in a first position in which said member is substantially horizontal and, after being struck by each said article, being pivotably displaced by said displacement means to cause said article to roll down a substantially linear path towards said deliv ery position, said depression travelling along said member with said article and restraining said article from deviating substantially from said linear path, and said storage location including locating means to orientate said articles such that each of said articles is delivered to said member with the axis of rotation of said article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which said article is to roll thereon. 11. A device as defined in claim 10, wherein said support comprises a pivotably mounted cradle provided with two mutually inclined arms defining a trough, said member comprises a strip of flexible material, said strip c being so orientated relative to said storage location that each of said articles on striking said strip extends across said strip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length of said strip; 

1. A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device comprising in combination: a cradle provided with two integral arms mutually inclined to define a trough; a storage location in said machine; a delivery position in said machine; a member mounted on said cradle to extend between said arms and across said trough, said member consisting of flexible solid material disposed below and next adjacent said storage location and having a substantially planar upper surface to receive articles individually dropping freely under gravity from said storage location and impinging directly on said upper surface of said member, each said article on striking said member causing a depression to be formed therein, said member being inclined towards said delivery position to cause said article to roll down a substatially linear path towards said delivery position, said depression travelling along said member with said article and restraining said article from deviating substantially from said linear path, and said storage location including locating means to orientate said articles such that each of said articles is delivered to said member with the axis of rotation of said article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which said article is to roll thereon.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1, comprising spring means interconnected between an end portion of said member and an end portion of at least one of said arms.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said member comprises a strip of flexible material, said strip being so oriented relative to said storage location that each of said articles on striking said strip extends across said strip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length of said strip.
 4. A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device comprising in combination: a pivotably mounted support; a storage location in said machine; a delivery position in said machine; a member mounted on said support, said member consisting of flexible solid material disposed below and next adjacent said storage location to receive articles individually dropping under gravity therefrom, each said article on striking said member causing a depression to be formed therein; biasing means urging said support towards a first position in which said member is substantially horizontal, said biasing means permitting said support to be pivotably displaced to a second position on said article striking said member; whereby, in said second poSition, said member is inclined towards said delivery position to cause said article to roll down a substantially linear path towards said delivery position, said depression travelling along said member with said article and restraining said article from deviating substantially from said linear path, and said storage location including locating means to orientate said articles such that each of said articles is delivered to said member with the axis of rotation of said article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which said article is to roll thereon.
 5. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said support comprises a pivotably mounted cradle provided with two mutually inclined arms defining a trough, said member extending between said arms and across said trough.
 6. A device as defined in claim 5, comprising spring means interconnected between an end portion of said member and an end portion of at least one of said arms.
 7. A device as defined in claim 5, wherein said member comprises a strip of flexible material, said strip being so orientated relative to said storage location that each of said articles on striking said strip extends across said strip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length of said strip.
 8. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said pivotably mounted support is gravity biased towards said first position.
 9. A device as defined in claim 4, wherein said pivotably mounted support is resiliently biased towards said first position.
 10. A device in a vending machine for transferring rollable articles from a storage location in the machine to a delivery position, the device comprising in combination: a pivotably mounted support; displacement means to pivotably displace said support; a storage location in said machine; a delivery position in said machine; a member mounted on said support, said member consisting of flexible material disposed below and next adjacent said storage location to receive articles individually dropping under gravity from said storage location, each said article on striking said member causing a depression to be formed therein; said support, on being struck by each said article, being in a first position in which said member is substantially horizontal and, after being struck by each said article, being pivotably displaced by said displacement means to cause said article to roll down a substantially linear path towards said delivery position, said depression travelling along said member with said article and restraining said article from deviating substantially from said linear path, and said storage location including locating means to orientate said articles such that each of said articles is delivered to said member with the axis of rotation of said article substantially horizontal and substantially perpendicular to the direction in which said article is to roll thereon.
 11. A device as defined in claim 10, wherein said support comprises a pivotably mounted cradle provided with two mutually inclined arms defining a trough, said member extending between said arms and across said trough.
 12. A device as defined in claim 11, comprising spring means interconnected between an end portion of said member and an end portion of at least one of said arms.
 13. A device as claimed in claim 11, wherein said member comprises a strip of flexible material, said strip being so orientated relative to said storage location that each of said articles on striking said strip extends across said strip in a direction substantially perpendicular to the length of said strip. 